Last year I received some pussy willows in a vase as a gift. Since one stalk grew roots, I planted it….. all year it had very few leaves (max 10, I think) and just generally looked like a very sad plant. But this year it has 4 buds!

B and I discovered a new vegetable at a local pick-your-own veggie farm — cucuzzi squash! They’re most commonly found in Indian cooking, we think, though (with the help of my mom) have found italian and korean and some other recipes for them, too.

I try to keep an eye out for mannequin parts for a friend of mine who likes to play with photography that involve body parts-n-such-stuff…. so far I’ve passed up a $1 Michael Jackson mannequin at an auction last summer (sad, I know — i still think of him as “the one who got away” as this was right nearby in deerfield!!) …. i also passed by a set of small children mannequins in Ventura, CA (only $30 each!)because I couldn’t figure out how to get them home with me on a plane (small child-like mannequin in suitcase? creepy. small child-like mannequin in overhead compartment? also creepy. both very good stories buuuuuut…… it was determined a no-go mostly because they wouldn’t fit in my suitcase and I wasn’t going to have time to buy a suitcase after 5pm on a saturday when my flight was leaving at 6am the next morning. i also wasn’t sure i could convince my old roommate to send them in the mail. opening a big box to find two children in it? also creepy 😉 but fun!

ANYWAY. FINALLY this summer i located a body part that was w/in her price range, w/in a reasonable distance from my house, and better yet —- going on sale for 30% off on Sunday! so finally finally finally I got a body part for her and it rode around in the backset of my car looking like this: